


A Scandal in Brixton

by ChronicComicObsession



Category: Love Island (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Death, F/M, Mentions of Blood, Mentions of weapons, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Sherlock - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:42:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28638717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChronicComicObsession/pseuds/ChronicComicObsession
Summary: Noah Holmes and Dr. Bobby McKenzie are a crime fighting, detective duo, but a cryptic text leads them to their toughest mystery yet.
Relationships: Bobby McKenzie/Main Character (Love Island), Bobby McKenzie/Original Character(s)
Comments: 39
Kudos: 14





	1. A Study in Magenta

**Author's Note:**

> Was watching Sherlock and got the idea to make it into a LITG AU! Thanks a billion to everyone in the discord for helping bring this story to life! 
> 
> And a massive thanks to Sarah (veritasLItg) for beta reading!
> 
> I hoping to update this every Friday!

Noah strode away from the old house, his usual arrogant swagger permeating each step. Bobby followed hot on his trail, mind reeling from finally closing the case.

“That was incredible! The way you knew Reese was the killer, just from the way he tied his shoes! Unbelievable!” Bobby exclaimed, waving his hands to add emphasis to his words.

“Must you always blather on like that at the end of every case?” Noah asked, cutting Bobby a droll look.

“Oh, sorry. Still can’t get over it sometimes,” Bobby mumbled sheepishly.

“No it’s fine...just tone it down.” 

“Roger that!” Bobby replied cheerfully, the spring returning to his step as he and Noah continued their walk home.

**********

As Noah pushed open the door to their shared flat, he was met with a flurry of blonde and pink.

“You two always leave such a mess!” Chelsea shrieked, picking a few stray books up off the floor and shoving them clumsily back onto the nearest bookshelf. “I come back in here searching for the mugs I lent you both and you boys have left this place in a right tizzy!”

“Sorry Chelsea, I have trouble focusing on cleaning when your dog barks through all hours of the night,” Noah replied dryly as he shrugged off his trenchcoat and threw it on a hook near the door.

Chelsea stopped her frenzied cleaning and huffed, resting her hands on her hips. “Now, Noah, I was nice enough to rent you and your friend this flat, but I am  _ not  _ your housekeeper!”

“No, you rented this to me because I got your best friend off of death row,” Noah remarked dryly as he picked up his violin to tune it.

“Well I couldn’t let my bra get killed for a crime she didn’t commit!”

“I’m sorry, your what?” Bobby cut in as he began helping Chelsea tidy up.

“Don’t ask,” Noah replied with a roll of his eyes before Chelsea could get into her long-winded and entirely unnecessary tangent as to why she calls her best mate her ‘bra’.

“Well, either way I am your landlady, not your housekeeper!” She reiterated as she stomped out the door, her pink cardigan flowing behind her as she pulled the door shut.

“Didn’t realize you got her friend off of death row,” Bobby commented, sinking into their recliner and kicking off his shoes.

Noah waved his hand dismissively. “It was nothing. Girl got framed for killing her boyfriend. Was really the mistress.”

Bobby looked at Noah with a thoughtful expression, intrigued by his strange flatmate. Bobby had never met a lad quite like Noah. A complete and utter genius with zero social skills.

A loud  _ ping  _ cut through Bobby’s train of thought. Noah pulled his phone out, studying it thoughtfully before unlocking it to read the message.

**Blocked:** _ Bored yet? You never know what, or who, you’ll find at the end of the rainbow. _

Noah cocked his head to the side and squinted his eyes, studying the cryptic message carefully.  _ This seems like a trap. Who would commit a crime just to lead me straight to it?  _ **_Someone who wants to be caught._ **

**********

Noah and Bobby stepped out of the taxi in front of the old pub. A dilapidated sign arching over the barn-style doors read ‘Rainbow’s End’ with a carving of a leprechaun clutching a pot of gold hanging on by a few nails tacked onto the end. The sign, once colorful, was now faded and nearly illegible.

Noah confidently pushed the doors open, heading straight for the muscular blonde bartender. “Good evening,” He stated simply, standing stiffly in front of the bar.

The young man eyed him carefully over the edge of his dark-framed glasses. “Can I help you bruv?”

“I was wondering if anyone suspicious has come in tonight?”

The man behind the bar barked out a hearty laugh. “Mate you’re at Rainbow’s End. Everyone who walks in here is suspicious.”

Bobby crossed the bar quickly, setting his hand on Noah’s shoulder as he stared blankly at the snickering bartender. “Gary! Long time no see!”

“McKenzie, you bastard! Haven’t seen the likes of you in yonks!” The big blonde reached across the bar and grasped Bobby’s outstretched hand, shaking it vigorously.

“Oh ye know me, always bouncing around. Finally finished up medical school!”

“Oi! Bobbo is a doctor now! Remind me not to get sick!”

Noah watched the exchange awkwardly, antsy to decode the bizarre text he received earlier but unsure how to insert himself in their conversation.

“Oh feck off! I’m a great doctor!” Bobby ribbed, flipping Gary off.

“I’m sure you are! Now what’s this your friend is asking about?”

“Oh right, sorry about Noah. He got a weird text about finding someone here, but it was probably just a prank,” Bobby answered, giving Noah a sidelong glance.

“Oh, you’re that Holmes bloke! The one who can tell how many ladies you’ve shagged by the color of your socks!” Gary declared, eyeing Noah with childlike wonder.

“Don’t even get him started…” Bobby groaned.

“I can do all the party tricks you’d like, if you can help me figure out why someone would send me this out of the blue,” Noah replied wryly. He pulled his phone out and showed Gary the text.

Gary studied it carefully for a moment, pursing his lips in thought. “Not a clue, mate. Like Bobby said, probably just a prank.”

Noah scowled as he sunk into a barstool, annoyed that his evening had been wasted. Until he cast his gaze down the bar, and his interest was piqued. A half drunk gin and tonic was left on a napkin at the other end of the bar, condensation dripping down the side of the glass and pooling on the soggy cloth.

Noah further analyzed his surroundings, clocking the immaculately folded jacket next to the abandoned glass. Everything in the area was lined up perfectly, with the exception of the crooked coaster casted to the side of the deserted area.  _ No one that obsessed with order would leave a half-drunk glass to drip all over the counter, orleave the coaster completely thrown to the side untouched. They left in a hurry. _

“Gary was it?” Noah caught Gary’s attention. “Who was sat there?” Noah pointed to the abandoned gin and tonic.

“Oh, a regular named Jakub. Weird, he doesn’t usually leave his things like that,” Gary answered, furrowing his brow slightly.

“Big lad? Obsessed with neatness and order?” Noah asked.

“You know him?” 

“No,” Noah replied curtly, scrambling out of his chair and out the back door of the pub.

“Oh, did he just do his thing?!” Gary questioned, his eyes wide with wonder.

“Yeah, and I think he’s found something,” Bobby replied, before chasing after Noah.

Bobby busted through the back door, halting as he caught sight of Noah staring into one of the pub’s dumpsters.

Bobby crept up to Noah’s side slowly, nervous as to what had stopped the stoic man in his tracks.

Peering into the large metal bin, Bobby felt the color drain from his face as his eyes fell on the body of a very muscular man. The back of the man’s buzzed head was caked in blood, and his lifeless limbs hung down at his sides.

“Just a prank text, huh?” Noah said smugly, climbing up on the side of the wastebin to get a closer look at the body.

“Noah! We need to call the police!” Bobby exclaimed, grabbing Noah’s arm to yank him backwards.

“Police? They’ll only get in my way!”

“Noah, the right thing to do when you find a  _ dead body  _ is to call the damn police!”

Noah just rolled his eyes at his partner, jerking his arm out of the other man’s grip.

Bobby sighed heavily, taking a few steps back until he was out of Noah’s earshot. He took one last glance at his partner to ensure he wasn’t being watched. Once he was sure Noah wasn’t looking he pulled his mobile phone out and quickly dialed Detective Inspector Koh’s phone number.

“Hey Lucas. We found a body in the bin behind Rainbow’s End.”

**********

Noah huffed as Lottie handed him a pair of gloves. “We don’t need you mucking up the crime scene.  _ Again. _ ”

“You shouldn’t even be here in the first place, I had this handled,” Noah grumbled, sending Bobby a dirty look.

“Sorry mate, but Lucas told me to call him if we ever stumbled onto another crime scene,” Bobby explained, giving Noah an apologetic smile.

Noah’s scowl deepened as Lucas approached him. “Bobby was right to call me, Noah. We’ve been over this. Crimes are meant to be handled by the police, and you,” he jabbed a finger into Noah’s chest, “are not police.”

“I wouldn’t dumb myself down enough to be a police officer,” Noah replied as he shoved Lucas’s finger away.

“Hey!” Lottie advanced on Noah with a glare. “We tolerate you when we need help, freak, but you’re by no means essential to our operation.” 

“Could’ve fooled me,” Noah snapped, smirking smugly.

Lottie huffed before turning back to Lucas. “Where do you need me, Koh?”

“Please help Henrik with forensics,” Lucas replied. He brushed his fingers along the tips of his thickly gelled hair, ensuring not a strand was out of place.

“Does your wife know you’re sleeping with the forensics guy?” Noah blurted out, cocking an eyebrow up at Lucas.

Lucas’ eyes darkened as he squinted at Noah. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh please, it’s so obvious.” Noah smirked.

“I think Noah and I are going to head home,” Bobby cut in, eager to break up the tension. “Please reach out with anything you find.”

“Sure thing. Thanks for calling us Bobby,” Lucas replied, smiling at Bobby gratefully as Noah rolled his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Noah says ACAB :)


	2. The Widow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! And thanks a billion to Sarah (vertiasLItg) for beta reading! So glad y'all are enjoying this so far!

After a few hours of Noah complaining and playing violin, Bobby’s phone started to ring. After a quick glance at the screen, he saw it was Lucas finally calling back.

“Shush it’s Koh,” Bobby yelled to Noah before pressing the accept call button. “What’s up, Koh?”

“Found an ID on the victim. Jakub Zabinski.”

“Got it. Any living relatives we can contact?”

“A wife. Well, widow now I guess. Margot Zabinski. I can text you her address.”

“Roger that. Thanks Lucas!”

Lucas sighed heavily on the other line. “Is Noah going to tell Sarah? About the Henrik thing?”

Bobby bit back a laugh. “So you  _ are  _ shagging the forensics boy?”

“Shut it, McKenzie,” Lucas growled.

“Probably not. He doesn’t care enough to wreck your marriage.” 

“He’s right, I don’t,” Noah called from the other side of the room.

“Thanks, I think. Talk to you later, McKenzie.” A click on the other end signaled the end of the call.

“Good news, Noah, vic was married. Lass named Margot. Koh’s texting me the address,” Bobby said.

“Brilliant. We can head straight over to talk to her.”

“Just...be gentle,” Bobby advised tentatively.

“What do you mean?” Noah asked, not bothering to look up from his desk as he gathered his things. 

“The lassie’s husband was just found dead. Don’t, you know...be you.”

“I don’t know what you mean by that,” Noah replied curtly, now standing at the door and pulling on his signature trench coat.

“I don’t see this ending well…” Bobby muttered as he stepped outside and hailed a taxi.

**********

Bobby and Noah stepped up to the door of the flat. After three sharp knocks, the door swung open to reveal a short, curvy woman with a soaked tissue in hand. Her curly blonde bangs dusted her red, puffy eyes, her top knot slouching halfway down her head as if she had just gotten out of bed.

_ She’s quite pretty,  _ Bobby thought, before shaking himself to his senses.  _ And her husband was just murdered, and we’re the ones who found the body. _

“Mrs. Zabinski? We’re with the police, can we come in?” Noah asked politely. She nodded almost imperceptibly as she stepped aside to let the two men in. The flat was meticulously organized, barring the coffee table, which had books and used tissue strewn across it. 

“Come in, sit down. Would either of you like a cuppa?” Margot asked. Her eyes grew wide at the mess on the coffee table, “Oh shit, sorry! Flat isn’t usually this messy. Jakub hated any kind of mess.” She chuckled lightly, before choking back a sob.

“We’re terribly sorry for your loss, Ms. Zabinski,” Bobby consoled her, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. 

“Oh, please call me Margot,” She stated, taking a seat and motioning for the two men to do the same.

Bobby and Noah both took a seat on the sofa, Noah looking more and more uncomfortable with each passing minute.

“So Margot, what can you tell us about your late husband?” Noah asked, shifting uncomfortably on the rigid couch.

“Well, he was a personal trainer and traveled a bit for work. Sometimes he would be gone for a few days here or there, so I didn’t really think anything of it when he didn’t come home yesterday. He was really just a pretty average guy, to be honest. Can’t imagine why someone would hurt him,” She explained, occasionally pausing to wipe away tears.

“You didn’t think he was cheating or doing something else nefarious?” Noah asked bluntly.

Margot blinked rapidly in shock. “What? No I…” she stammered, tears springing up in the corners of her eyes.

“Noah! Her husband just died, show a little empathy, why don’t you!” Bobby exclaimed, rushing over to Margot’s side and handing her a box of tissues.

“Sorry,” Noah deadpanned, not really sounding sorry. “Is there anything you can tell us about Jakub?”

Margot sniffled for a few moments, regaining her composure as Bobby crouched next to her and rubbed small circles into her back. “No, not really. I’m sorry. Maybe try reaching out to some of his friends? He had a few workout buddies at his gym.”

She smiled at Bobby briefly before rising, crossing the room, and picking up a business card. She came back and handed it to Noah with shaky hands. “Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”

“It’s quite alright, Ms. Zabinski. Thank you for your time,” Bobby replied, giving her an encouraging smile before tugging Noah towards the door.

_ They like each other, _ Noah thought to himself with a roll of his eyes.

**********

Noah studied the business card Margot had given him, turning it over in his hand.  _ Big T’s Gym for Muscles. Bizarre name for a gym. Sounds like a joke.  _

Noah was so engrossed in his train of thought that he didn’t notice the large man sitting on his and Bobby’s couch.

“Rahim? What are you doing here?” Bobby asked incredulously. 

“Here to see my brother. If he’s willing to grace me with his presence.” His deep timbre rang out in the small flat, pulling Noah out of his daze.

“What is it, Rahim? There wasn’t someone at the British consulate to bore, so you chose to come see me?” Noah quipped, sitting down at his desk and opening Bobby’s laptop.

“Hey that’s mine!” Bobby exclaimed.

“And?”

“It’s password protected.” 

“Not well,” Noah replied as he clacked away at the keyboard.

Bobby rolled his eyes before turning to Rahim. “So how can we help you?”

“Potential case. One of great importance,” Rahim replied haughtily.

“Sounds boring,” Noah chimed in.

“I can assure it isn’t. Now can I count on you to help?”

“No. We’re busy. Ring up Koh,” Noah replied, keeping his eyes trained on the laptop screen.

“I don’t trust Koh with this. I need someone who can operate with a high level of discretion.” 

“Wise not to trust Koh, then. Can’t keep his own marriage together,” Noah replied, chuckling quietly.

“What’s that? Is something going on with him and Sarah?” Rahim leaned forward, his interest piqued.

“It’s nothing,” Bobby cut in, waving his hand dismissively. “What’s this case then?”

“One of my colleagues is having trouble with a gentleman that’s following her. Thinks he may be trying to blackmail her,” Rahim leaned back, his interest waning now that potential gossip had passed by.

“Boring. Not interested,” Noah remarked.

“You know, you could just help me because we’re brothers,” Rahim sighed, not bothering to hide his exasperation.

“Or I could refuse because it’s boring.”

“Sorry Rahim, we’re working on a case right now, but I’ll give you a call later, yeah?” Bobby offered, not-so-subtly trying to get rid of him.

“Fine. But it would be nice if you cared about your family for once, Noah,” Rahim replied, shooting his brother a dirty look.

“Duly noted,” Noah replied absentmindedly as he typed.

Rahim sighed again as he headed towards the door, adjusting his very expensive and, in Noah’s opinion, ostentatious suit. “I’ll be seeing you later, little brother.”

“Mhmm,” Noah replied, waving him off.

Rahim turned to Bobby. “I’ll talk to you later,” he said, holding out a large hand.

Bobby shook it briefly. “Sure thing.”

Rahim turned and headed out the door, shutting it much louder than necessary. Bobby rolled his eyes as his phone started to ring, perking up slightly when he saw it was his girlfriend, Jo.

“Jo babe! What’s up lass?” Bobby answered cheerfully.

“Do you know what time it is?” She chirped from the other line, sounding annoyed.

“Uh, half three, right?” he replied, checking his watch. 

“And what day is it?”

“Thursday?” Bobby’s palms started to sweat, trying to figure out what she was getting at.

“And what were we going to do Thursday at 3 o’clock?” she asked in a patronizing tone.

“Oh fucking shit, lunch!” Bobby exclaimed, running his fingers through his dreads.

“Yes babe, lunch. This is the third time you’ve missed a date this month.”

“I’m so so sorry lass, I’ll make this up to you, I promise. We just got this new case…”

“That’s all I ever hear about now!! ‘New case’ this and ‘have to solve this crime’ that. You spend more time with that weird flatmate of yours than you do with me!” Jo screeched from the other end.

Bobby continued to argue with that wretched girlfriend of his on the phone from the other room as Noah did his research.  _ He should just end it with her,  _ Noah thought to himself.  _ She kept making eyes at my brother that one time he came over while she was here.  _

Noah scrolled through Big T’s website, looking for the contacts of anyone who might’ve been friends with Jakub. He quickly jotted down the information of an annoying looking blue-haired bloke on their website’s staffing list. 

Right as Noah closed Bobby’s laptop, his partner came storming back into the room, slamming his cell phone down on the TV table. “Good call, then?” Noah asked sarcastically.

“Jo dumped me. Said I’ve been neglecting her for my work,” Bobby replied as he slumped down into one of the recliners, rubbing his temples.

“Eh, she was irritating anyway. And now you’ll be less distracted.”

Bobby gave Noah an incredulous look. “Really, man? Can’t even fake feeling a bit bad that my relationship just imploded?”

“It would’ve crashed and burned anyways,” Noah stated simply.

“What’s it like being so void of basic sympathy?” Bobby asked, giving Noah an annoyed glare.

“I quite like it. Lets me think clearly.” 

“Did you find anything?” Bobby asked, shifting the subject.

“Some blue-haired lad named Felix. One of the errand boys for Jakub’s gym. Probably knew Jakub. Thought we could give him a call.”

“Grand,” Bobby replied sarcastically, leaning back into his chair and closing his eyes.

Suddenly Noah’s phone pinged, cutting through the tense silence. Noah glanced at it quickly before cutting his eyes back up to Bobby.

“Hannah texted. They’ve finished up Jakub’s autopsy.”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Bobby exclaimed, jumping up from his seat and grabbing his coat.  _ Love a good distraction.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To Margot, our favorite Jakub stan


	3. The Body

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated! And thanks again to the wonderful Sarah (veritasLItg) for beta reading!

Noah flipped his collar up as he and Bobby stepped out of the cab in front of the morgue. Bobby grumbled quietly as they pushed open the large steel door.

“You could pay for the cab every once in a while, you know,” Bobby said, his tone more annoyed than usual.

“I’m the reason you have a place to live,” the taller man retorted.

Bobby shrugged and rolled his eyes, choosing not to try and argue it. He strolled over to the receptionist, trying to shake off his ire before talking to this perfect stranger. “Hi! We got a call from Hannah about a body that was brought in earlier.”

The young woman cut her eyes up from her magazine momentarily before jerking her head back wordlessly.  _ Kids these days,  _ Bobby thought to himself, giving the girl a polite smile before heading towards the door she had motioned towards.

Noah followed hot on his heels, no doubt thinking about how much smarter he is than everyone else. As they pushed the door open, they were met with a very frazzled looking Hannah dashing around, her white lab coat flowing around her as she weaved between the tables. The poor lass had always carried a torch for Noah, but Noah was either oblivious or didn’t care. Bobby figured it was most likely the latter. 

“Oh hello! Wasn’t expecting you both so soon!” she chirped nervously, frantically smoothing out her long ginger braid.

“Sorry,” Noah replied dryly, pulling on gloves before approaching the side of the room covered in large drawers. The place always gave Bobby the creeps, the long metal tables piled high with chemicals and petri dishes across from the wall lined with cold metal drawers full of dead people.  _ One day I’ll just be a body someone yanks out of a drawer in the wall. _

Noah quickly examined the tags on the drawers, stopping once he found the one labelled ‘Zabinski, Jakub.’ He gave the steel handle a strong tug, pulling out the rolling table to reveal Jakub’s naked, lifeless body laid out flat.

“What do we know, Hannah?” Noah directed at the young mortician. 

“What?” she whimpered under his gaze, seemingly caught off guard.

“About the body,” he replied, gesturing towards it. “What do we know about the body?”

“Oh, getting right down to business, as usual!” she giggled manically as she joined Noah on the other side of Jakub’s body. Noah cut his eyes up at her quickly before looking back down at the large corpse.  _ Is she wearing lipstick? She doesn’t normally wear lipstick. _

“Just trying to find out what happened,” Noah replied curtly, tilting Jakub’s head to the side to better examine his injury.

“Well it looks like he died from blunt force trauma to the back of the head. Maybe a bar fight gone ugly?” Hannah mused, perching on her toes to look back down at Jakub’s body.

“Wrong,” Noah replied simply, ducking down to look through the dead man’s clothes, now gathered in an evidence bag.

“What?” Hannah deflated, wide eyes trained on Noah as she chewed on her bottom lip.

Bobby cut his eyes up at the young medical examiner as he approached the body.  _ She needs to stop trying so hard to impress Noah. It’s not working.  _

“Wrong. Look at how precise that blow is, and his body lacks any other injuries typically seen in a fist fight. This was a hit job. Probably having something to do with the organized crime he was involved in,” Noah replied, seemingly oblivious to Hannah’s dejection.

“What organized crime? Margot said he was a personal trainer,” Bobby cut in, pulling on a pair of gloves to join Noah in going through evidence.

“Isn’t it obvious?” At their blank looks Noah rolled his eyes. “Is it nice being in such empty brains? Seems like it would be relaxing.”

Bobby rolled his eyes and huffed quietly. “Just explain it to us, Noah.”

“You saw Jakub’s flat: boring, relatively inexpensive, cheaply decorated. He was getting a drink at one of the cheapest pubs in town in the middle of the day. Clearly not a wealthy man, but look at his clothes: all designer, top dollar brands. A bloke with a lot of money living like a poor man: organized crime.” Noah's eyes darted back and forth between Hannah and Bobby, waiting for them to catch up.

“Do you think Margot knew about it but just didn’t want to tell the police?” Bobby questioned, scratching his chin in thought.

“Maybe. She seemed caught off guard when I asked if she thought he was up to something,” 

“She may have just felt awkward that you were asking if she thought her dead husband was a cheater or a criminal,” Bobby commented in a droll tone.

Noah shrugged in response, going back to examining the body.  _ The guy is dead, why would she want to defend his honor? _

“So Noah! I read that book you recommended!” Hannah jumped in, clearly trying to impress the detective. 

“I recommended a book to you?”

“Yeah! Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky,” she replied glumly, her face falling at his lack of enthusiasm. 

“Oh. Didn’t realize you thought I recommended it.”

“Oh. Well it was good!” she replied, putting on a painfully fake smile as she realized she failed to capture his interest. Again. 

Bobby clapped his hands loudly, trying to break up the awkwardness in the room. “You think we should talk to the widow again? Maybe she’ll be able to provide some new information.”

“Sure. Thanks for the help, Hannah.” Noah nodded at the petite woman.

“Not a problem! Come back any time if you need anything else!” she squeaked out, smiling cheerfully as she waved the men out.

**********

After a night of restless sleep, Noah and Bobby made their way back over to Margot’s flat. Noah groaned quietly as he gripped his coffee cup tighter. “I’m going to kill Chelsea’s stupid little dog. That thing needs a mute button,” he grumbled, rapping his knuckles against Margot’s door.

After a brief pause the door swung open, revealing a tired looking Margot looking up at them with a bewildered expression. Her oversized black cardigan hung off her shoulders and slouched around her arms, paired with a white tank top and jeans to give her a cute sort of relaxed look. Her blonde curls were down today, tumbling down to her waist. 

“Sorry to bother you again miss, but we just had a few more questions. Can we come in?” Bobby asked politely, subconsciously turning on his ‘I find this woman attractive and haven’t been laid in a while’ charm.

“Um sure, come in,” she stammered, stepping aside and motioning an arm towards the inside of the flat.

Noah and Bobby stepped in, heading straight for the couch from the day before. Noah grimaced slightly as he sat back down on the uncomfortable sofa.

Bobby gave Margot a sympathetic look as he joined Noah on the couch, launching into his own speech before Noah could say something else rude and insensitive. “So I’m not really sure how to ask you this, given the tragedy and heartbreak you must be going through right now. We aren’t trying to accuse your late husband of anything, just trying to follow any possible leads we can. So, with that in mind, is there anything else you can tell us how he may have spent his time?”

Margot tilted her head to the side, wide blue eyes studying him under her large-framed glasses. “I told you everything I can really think of. He could be a bit cagey about his job, so I never really pushed. I figured he just didn’t get a lot of clients so he was embarrassed.”

“Are you sure the only job he had was personal training?” Bobby prodded lightly.

“As far as I know…” Margot furrowed her brow in confusion.

“Are you sure he wasn’t part of any sort of organized crime? Hit man, errand boy for the mafia?” Noah asked bluntly, getting annoyed with Bobby tiptoeing around the subject.

Margot reared back, blinking rapidly in shock. “No, of course not!”

“Are you sure? He owned a lot of expensive things for an otherwise cheap bloke,” Noah retorted, studying Margot carefully.

“I guess he was a bit private about his business but if anything he did was illegal, I didn’t know about it,” she conceded, fiddling with her bracelet as her bottom lip started to quiver.

“Thank you for your help again, Ms. Zabinski. Sorry to have bothered you,” Bobby chimed in, giving Noah a stern look.

“Yeah, thanks again,” Noah added, rolling his eyes internally. 

Margot nodded at them before following them to the door, shooting Bobby a quick smile as she saw them out.

**********

Noah drummed his fingers on the cafe table, getting more and more annoyed the later it got. Having reached a dead end with Margot, Bobby had reached out to the blue-haired guy Felix from Jakub’s gym. He agreed to meet them at a local coffee shop, thinking they were interested in signing up for Big T’s gym.

However, he was now 20 minutes late, much to Noah’s annoyance. “Where is this idiot? I don’t have all day!” Noah barked, playing with a stray napkin to keep his hands occupied.

“Yes you do,” Bobby replied, not looking up from his laptop as he perused the gym’s website. 

“Well, if you agree to meet someone, you should show up on time!” Noah retorted.

Finally the bell to the shop’s door rang out, Felix striding in grinning like an idiot. Noah sighed with exasperation, catching his attention and motioning to come join him at his and Bobby’s table.

“Good day, lads!” Felix greeted them cheerfully, clapping Noah’s back like they were old friends. Noah grunted quietly, not enjoying Felix’s cavalier attitude.

“You’re late,” Noah muttered, pushing a scone towards Felix as he sat across from him.

“Oh yeah, sorry about that! Got busy chirpsing with a fit bird, made me run late. You get it!” He chuckled and waved his hand aimlessly as he began munching down on the scone obnoxiously loudly.

“No, I—”

“Sure,” Bobby cut in, trying to avoid a Noah lecture on punctuality, “anyways we wanted to ask about a man named Jakub Zabinski. Did you know him?” 

“Oh yeah! Love the old Zabins! Taught me everything I know about the pick-up game!” He sprayed crumbs as he spoke, making Noah’s face screw up in disgust.

“When was the last time you heard from him?”

“Last week? We met up to talk about this week’s task then -” Felix’s eyes grew wide as he cut himself off, clearly saying more than he meant to.

“This week’s task? What do you mean by that?” Noah pressed, leaning forward with interest.

“Oh you know we just have stuff we like to do every week…” Felix trailed off, trying to keep his cool and failing miserably.

“Oh yeah? What for? For fun? For money?” Noah kept pushing, reveling in being right, again.

“Oh maybe a quick quid here and there…”

“What sorts of things do you do?” Bobby asked, his interest also piqued.

Felix’s eyes darted back and forth between the two men, studying them for a moment before breaking into a wide grin. “Okay, you two seem like good lads, so I’ll let you in on a little secret: you know Big T’s?”

Noah and Bobby both nodded, fighting down grins at how easily Felix was fooled. “It’s a big front for an organization called the Heavy Lifters. One day we’ll be bigger than the mafia!” Felix revealed, his clueless smile a mile wide.

“Wow. And what sort of things do the Heavy Lifters do?” Bobby inquired.

“Can’t say. Gotta be sworn in before we tell you the big secrets.” Felix sat back in his chair, crossing his arms and putting on a haughty expression.

“Well, this has been incredibly enlightening. We’ll stop by later this week to get more information,” Noah announced, pushing out of his chair and nodding towards Bobby.

Bobby caught the hint, nodding and rising to join Noah. 

“Was lovely talking to you both! Can’t wait to get to know you!” Felix waved them both off as they walked out the door, completely oblivious to his massive blunder. 

“Okay, fine. You were right,” Bobby conceded.

“Always am,” Noah retorted with a shit eating grin.

“So he didn’t seem to know about Jakub’s death,” Bobby noted as he hailed a cab.

“News probably hasn’t spread yet. But did you notice how he wouldn’t tell us what they do?”

Bobby nodded slowly, trying to figure out what Noah was getting at.

“Maybe that’s why Jakub got killed. What if he was giving information to outsiders? You heard Felix, they want to be as big as the mafia, and the mafia offs traitors,” Noah explained as he slid into the cab, rattling off their address to the driver before turning back to Bobby.

“I guess that’s true. But if that whole gym is a front for it, maybe we can use it to find the other members?” Bobby suggested.

“Not bad McKenzie, not bad,” Noah offered a rare bit of praise, making Bobby smile to himself.


	4. The Peeping Detective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry for taking a million and one years to update!
> 
> Thanks a million to my amazing beta Sarah (veritasLItg) for making this passable 😂😂

Bobby wiped his hands nervously down the front of his trousers before lightly rapping his knuckles on Margot’s door. _I shouldn’t be doing this. Her husband just died_ , he thought. 

Those thoughts promptly died, however, when the door swung open. She had on an oversized red jumper and black leggings, giving her a cute sort of homey look that Bobby was _very_ into. Her hair was pulled back in a long ponytail, her blue eyes wide in surprise. 

“Dr. McKenzie, right? Is everything alright?” she asked.

Bobby chuckled quietly, leaning against the doorframe. “I don’t recall telling you my full name. Or that I was a doctor.” He smirked slightly as he leaned in, dropping his voice to just above a whisper. “And you can call me Bobby.”

“Well, I may have looked you both up once you left. You were quite different from most of the police I’ve encountered.” Her cheeks flushed pink, but she didn’t lean away from Bobby, making his stomach flutter. 

“Aye, well, we’re more so consultants than police officers ourselves,” he replied, craning his neck to peek inside.

Margot noticed his not-so-subtle hint. “Would you like to come in? I can whip you up a cuppa.”

“Sounds lovely,” Bobby answered with a charming grin, shucking off his coat and throwing it on a hook near the door. 

“Milk and sugar?” she called out from the kitchen. 

“Just a splash of milk, please.” Bobby straightened out his light blue button up as he lowered himself down onto the couch.

Margot’s home was looking much more lived-in than it had when Bobby and Noah had first stopped by. More decorations had been put up along the walls, and a few candles lit throughout the flat left it smelling faintly of cookies. The previously plain couch now had a few colorful throw pillows in each corner and a light blue blanket thrown across the back. _Looks like an actual home now._

Margot’s voice broke through Bobby’s train of thought. “So did you find anything else?”

“What?” he asked, taking the mug of tea from her hand as she sat down next to him.

“About Jakub? I figured that’s why you were here.”

“Oh. Well, sort of. Did you ever meet Jakub’s friend, Felix? Blue haired lad, pretty irritating.”

Margot chewed the inside of her lip. “The name sounds sort of familiar? No one that fits that description. He mentioned a lot of names, though. They all run together after time.”

Bobby nodded. “Well, he worked at the same gym at Jakub. The one you gave us the card for. Turns out the whole thing is a big front for some sort of low grade mafia.”

She blinked rapidly, pushing her glasses up her nose as she stared blankly into her tea. “So Noah was right? Jakub _was_ involved in some sort of organized crime?”

He nodded sadly, taking one of her hands and giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m so sorry, Margot.”

She gave him a soft smile, squeezing his hand back. “Not your fault. Just sort of a shit situation, innit.” 

“Still. You were already having to process his death, and now this.”

Margot sighed, rubbing her thumb over Bobby’s knuckles. He figured it was just a habit of hers, but he couldn’t help the way his heart leapt at the small show of affection.

“Yeah, I guess. Truthfully, I did think he was up to something. But I just figured he was cheating. Not part of some weird imitation mafia.” She chuckled humorlessly.

“So you did think he was cheating?”

She sighed. “Yeah, I did. He just went out of town so much and was always so shady about what he was doing. And he wasn’t really all that subtle when he checked out other women. I just blew it off, told myself it didn’t matter. I was still his wife at the end of the day, you know?”

“My ex used to hit on my flatmate’s brother,” Bobby blurted out suddenly, his cheeks tinting slightly pink at the candid admission.

“Did she really? Bit of a slag move.”

He chuckled. “I guess so. Told myself it was harmless, and the man is about as interesting as dry toast, so I figured I had no reason to be worried.”

Margot barked out a laugh. “So Noah’s brother is boring, eh? Wouldn’t have guessed that.”

“You really did look me up, huh?” Bobby teased.

“I looked both of you up! Don’t get a big head thinking I’m only internet stalking you,” she replied, dropping his hand to swat his arm playfully.

“I guess I shouldn’t ask you to dinner, then,” Bobby asked, hiding his nerves with a cheeky smirk.

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far. Maybe you should,” she said. 

“Then would you like to go to dinner tonight? I know a great Italian place downtown whose owner owes me a favor.”

Margot’s lips spread into a wide grin. “That sounds lovely. Half seven work?”

“Perfect,” Bobby replied with a grin of his own.

**********

Bobby anxiously adjusted his jacket for what felt like the millionth time as he waited for Margot to arrive. He had managed to secure a table in the back, even gotten a red tablecloth and a candle to set the mood. _Fuck, I’m so going to hell for dating a woman who was widowed less than a week ago. At least it’ll be a fun ride down._

Those thoughts all got pushed to the back of Bobby’s brain as she walked in. She had changed out of her pajamas into a dark blue wrap dress that accentuated her incredible curves. Her long blonde hair now swung freely down her back, and her bright blues eyes were now framed with a gorgeous smokey eye.

A smile spread across her lips as Bobby motioned her back to their table. “This place is lush,” she commented as he pulled her chair out for her.

“Thanks, lass. You look incredible.” He held out her chair and pushed it in as she sat down before taking the seat across from her.

“Likewise,” she replied, dragging her eyes up and down his frame.

Before Bobby could respond, a tall, ginger man came up from behind him and clapped his hand on Bobby’s shoulder. “Evening Bobs!”

“Miles! Great to see you! Thanks for all this.” Bobby motioned to the table.

“Anything for you, lad!” Miles exclaimed, then turned to Margot. “This chap and his mate got me cleared of a murder charge!”

“Is that so?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow up at Bobby.

“Aye! If either of you need anything, just let me know!”

Bobby and Margot nodded at him as he walked off. “He seems like quite the character,” she commented, her tone laced with mirth.

“Aye, I seem to attract that,” He replied, making her laugh. 

Before she could respond, a very flustered Lucas stumbled into the restaurant and quickly spotted them, making a beeline for their table.

“McKenzie! I need your help!” he exclaimed breathlessly.

“Is it urgent? I’m kind of busy?” Bobby replied, giving him an annoyed glare.

“Yes! I’ve just arrested Noah.”

“What?!”

“It’s fine, he’s fine. I wasn’t going to book him or anything. I just need you to come down to the station and talk to him.”

Bobby’s eyes darted back and forth between Lucas and Margot as he tried to figure out what to do. 

“Just go,” Margot finally said, cutting off his internal debate.

“Are you sure?” Bobby asked hesitantly.

“Yes, I’m sure. You’ll just owe me,” she replied with a wink.

“You’re bonnie,” he said before chasing off after Lucas.

**********

“What the hell made you think that was a good idea?” Bobby asked Noah incredulously.

“I had a reliable source tell me a lot of the members of Heavy Lifters use this hotel as a meeting place.”

“So you thought watching them with binoculars was a good idea?”

“Well, sure. I wanted to see if I could find anyone suspicious there. Someone that might lead us to Jakub’s killer.”

“Noah, they probably thought you were a peeping tom,” Bobby explained, running a hand through his dreads in frustration.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“I know, I know. You would never do something like that, that’s just how it loo-”

“Why would someone do that? There’s free pornography all over the internet,” Noah cut him off.

Bobby’s jaw dropped, clueless how to respond to that. Lottie and Lucas watched in amusement as he paced back and forth in the precinct, trying to explain what a peeping tom was to a baffled Noah. 

Finally, Lottie cut in. “Can I just book him already? Maybe a night in jail will teach him a lesson.”

Lucas sighed, laying a hand on Lottie’s arm. “No, Lottie, we can’t.”

“Why not?!”

“It was just a misunderstanding.” He turned to Bobby and Noah. “You two are free to go. But Noah, please don’t make me respond to a call for you ever again.”

Noah huffed and grumbled under his breath as he pulled his trench coat on. Bobby rolled his eyes before crossing the room to Lucas.

“Thank you again. I know he’ll never say it, so I’m saying it for the both of us,” he whispered to the taller man.

Lucas waved his hand dismissively. “Not a problem. Keep him out of trouble.”

“No promises,” Bobby muttered, following Noah out of the building.

  
  



End file.
